The sound of Carlos and Mike yelling had grabbed the attention of other kids, who were drifting closer. Frank stood off to the side, his mouth open in surprise. It was obvious to Héctor that Frank didn’t know what to do if Mike wasn’t ordering him around.

“Who cares?” said Mike, stepping closer to Carlos. “You got a problem?”

More kids arrived, and Jackson and Aishah pushed through the gathering crowd to stand next to Héctor. No one seemed to mind them trying to get closer to the action, but then he noticed that none of the other kids were even paying attention to him anymore. They were all watching Mike and Carlos.

“You shouldn’t have said that, Mike,” said Carlos, and then he took a step closer.

“Man,” said Mike, “it’s just a joke. Chill.”

“Yeah, he didn’t mean anything by it,” added Frank. “Why you gotta be such a loser about this?”

Carlos cast a quick glance at Héctor, locking eyes with him. Was Carlos trying to find someone to back him up? Héctor and Carlos had never really spoken to one another, but the unstated truth was hanging between them: He meant Mexicans, thought Héctor.

Despite having no reason to help Carlos, Héctor gave Carlos the tiniest nod.

“I’m not a loser,” said Carlos, glaring at Frank, and then he turned back to Mike. “Don’t say something like that again.”

“Or what?” said Mike, scoffing at him. “What are you gonna do?”

Héctor held his breath, unsure if this was about to get physical.

Carlos shook his head. “Man, y’all are wack,” he said.

Just as Héctor was about to let out his breath, Carlos turned and walked straight up to him. Héctor’s heart fluttered and he backed up a few steps. He flinched as Carlos raised a hand.

But all Carlos did was remove a banana peel from Héctor’s shoulder and let it fall to the floor.

Then he was gone.

Uncertainty bloomed in the silence. Héctor looked around at the gathered crowd, and no one said anything. When he made eye contact with Aishah, she shrugged, as if to say, I don’t get it either.

Then Mike shook his head. “You better clean up your mess, Hector,” he said, hissing his name.

No one else said anything, and the crowd dispersed. Héctor brushed more of the trash off himself, still reeling. Had he actually just seen Carlos stand up to Mike?

“Come on, Héctor,” said Jackson, putting a hand on his one clean shoulder. “I’ll help you get cleaned up in the bathroom.”

“Wait, really?” said Héctor.

Jackson nodded. “I walk home from here. It’s okay if I’m late.”

“You got this?” Aishah asked Jackson.

“Yeah, most def,” he said.